Adjustable folding table



April 30, 1963 1.. G. FREEMAN 25,376

ADJUSTABLE FOLDING TABLE Original Filed April 20, 1959 INVENTOR. "X Arms6 FREE/mm United States Patent 25,376 ADJUSTABLE FOLDING TABLE Lewis G.Freeman, RR. 3, Kokomo, Ind. Original No. 2,992,871, dated July 18,1961, Ser. No. 807,403, Apr. 20, 1959. Application for reissue Feb. 23,1962, Ser. No. 177,698

2 Claims. (Cl. 108-10) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets I: appears inthe original patent but forms no part of this reissue specification;matter printed in italics indicates the additions made by reissue.

The present invention relates to an adjustable folding table.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improvedadjustable folding table.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a table whichis adjustable as to height and attitude or angle of inclination andwhich is arranged so as to be swingable into a vertical, space-savingposition.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tablehaving great flexibility of adjustment.

Further objects will become apparent as the description proceeds.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from theaccompanying drawings and the following description and claim.

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a table embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation of the table illustrated in FIG. 1 withcertain portions thereof broken away.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section taken in the direction of the arrows andalong the line 33 of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, my invention comprises, in general, anupright frame 10', a pair of supports 13 13 mounted upon the frame 10and vertically adjustable with respect thereto, a table 11 pivotallymounted at one edge 14 upon the supports 13, and a pair of elongatedbraces 1212 supporting the table from the frame 10. The height and angleor attitude of the table may be adjusted by changing the length of thebraces 12, by changing the location of attachment of the frame-end ofthe braces 12 and by adjusting the position of the supports 13 withrespect to the frame 10. The table 11 may be let down so as to savespace by removing the braces 12 and by swinging the table downwardly, itbeing understood that the table is pivotally secured to the supports 13.

The frame 10 comprises a pair of upright tubular members 15 and 16 whichare provided respectively with rubber feet 17 and 18. The tubularmembers 15 and 16 are fixed in a spaced parallel relationship by meansof horizontal cross braces 221 and 22, each of which has a plurality ofapertures 23--23 suitable for use in attaching the device to a wall, toa desk, back-to-back with another such device, or to any other support.

Each brace 12 comprises a pair of bars 25 and 26 having fixed thereto,respectively, U-shaped guides 27 and 28, the guides being so mountedupon the bars that each bar with its respective guide forms a cavity forthe reception of the other bar. See FIG. 3 which shows this relationshipfor a representative one of the guides. It can readily be seen that thebars 25 and 26 will be maintained in a desired parallel relationship bythe guides 27 and 28.

A screw 31, having a knurled head for easy gripping and rotatingthereof, is received within a threaded bore 29 in the guide 28 andwithin a threaded bore 30 in a member 30 fixed to guide 28 for providingadditional bearing surface for the screw 31. The length of the brace 12may be adjusted by rotating screw 31 so as to release its pressureagainst bar 25, by setting the two bars at Reissued Apr. 30, 1963 such aposition as to provide the desired length of the brace 12, and bytightening the screw 31 so that the bar 25 is gripped between screw 31and the bar 26.

The two braces 12 are attached to the frame 10 by means of knurledheaded screws 33-33 which are threadedly received in threaded apertures37-37 in mount members 36-36 each of which is fixed to a side of arespective one of the upright tubular members 15 and 16. As shown in thedrawings, a plurality of threaded apertures 3838 are provided all alongthe mount members 36 to make possible relocation of the frame end of thebraces 12, the apertures 38' being threaded and of the same size as theapertures 37 for reception of the screws 33. The fact that the length ofthe braces 12 may be varied and the fact that the frame end of thebraces 12 may be attached anywhere upwardly or downwardly along theupright tubular members 15 provides a flexibility not present in priorart structures. For example, the braces 12 may be shortened and attachedto the frame in upward positions to save space below the table or may belengthened and attached to the frame in downward positions as in FIG. 1to more strongly support the table.

The table 11 comprises an upper flat rectangular portion 41 and a pairof mount members 42 each of which has at one end a horizontallyprojecting, screw-threaded member 39 upon which a respective one of thebraces 12 is received. A pair of wing nuts 32-32 are used to fix thebraces 12 to the mount members 42. At the other end of the mount members42 there is fixed a pair of arms 45 which project downwardly and arepivotally received upon respective ones of pins 4546 fixed to the upperends of the supports 13. Thus, it can be seen by removing the wing nuts32 and the knurled headed screws 33 that the braces 12 may be removedfrom the device and the table may be let down so as to hang in parallelspace-saving relationship adjacent the upright frame 10. It should benoted that the arm 45' is of such length that each mount member 42 issuflicicntly spaced from its support 13 so as to make possible easypivoting of the table with respect to the support members 13.

Each of the support members 13 has a generally cylindrical shape and isreceived within a respective one of tubular members 15 and 16 in such amanner as to be vertically movable in the tubular member. A pair ofthumbscrews 50-50 (screws having radially arranged bars fixed to theirheads to increase leverage) are threadedly received within threadedapertures 5151 in mount members 36, extend through the walls of thetubular members 15' and 16 and are used to fix the supports 13 in anydesired vertical position with respect to the tubular members 15 and 16.

While the invention has been disclosed and described in some detail inthe drawings and foregoing description, they are to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, as modifications mayreadily suggest themselves to persons skilled in this art and within thebroad scope of the invention, reference being bad to the appendedclaims.

The invention claimed is:

1. An adjustable folding table comprising a pair of parallel uprighttubular members, a pair of horizontal bracing elements fixing saidtubular members in spaced parallel relationship and having a pluralityof apertures for mounting the folding table, a pair of elongatedgenerally cylindrical supports, each of said supports received forvertical movement within one of said tubular members, a pair ofthumbscrews each passing through the wall of one of said tubular membersfor fixing the position of each support with respect to its respectivetubular member, a fiat rectangular table, each of said supports havingan upper end pivotally connected to one edge of said table, the twosupport-table connections being adjacent to two adjacent corners of saidtable, a'pair of elongated braces, each brace comprising a pair ofsmooth bars, a U-shaped guide member fixed to each of said bars formaintaining said bars in a parallel relationship, each of said U-shapedmembers secured by its legs to a respective one of said bars anddefining with said respective bar an aperture which slidably receivesthe other bar, a knurl headed screw threaded into the base of oneU-shaped member of each brace and engaging the bar slidably received bysaid last mentioned -U-shaped member for fixing the bars of each braceagainst movement with respect to one another, each brace beingdetachably securable at one end to one of said tubular members at any ofa plurality of vertically spaced points'and detachably securable at theother end tosaid table adjacent a table corner in such a manner thateach brace forms, with a respective tubular member, support and withsaid table, a vertical triangular shape, the two thus formed triangularshapes being parallel to one another, a pair of mounting members forsaid braces fixed to said tubular members and each having threadedapertures at each of said vertically spaced points, and knurl headedscrews extending through the one end of each brace for threading intosaid last mentioned apertures.

2. An adjustable folding table comprising a pair of parallel uprightelements, horizontal bracing fixing said adjacent to adjacent corners ofsaid table, a pair of braces, each brace comprising a pair of smoothbars, a U-shaped guide member fixed to one bar of each brace formaintaining said bars in a parallel relationship, each of said U-shapedmembers secured by its legs to its respective bar and defining with saidrespective bar an aperture which slidably receives the other bar of eachbrace, a screw threaded into the U-shaped member of each brace forfixing the bar slidably received by the U-shaped member against movementwith respect to said one bar of each brace, means for detachablysecuring each brace at one end to one of said upright elements at any ofa plurality of vertically spaced points, and means folr vdetachablysecuring each brace at the other end to said table adjacent to a tablecorner in such a manner that each brace f rms, with a respective uprightelement, a support and with said table, a generally vertical triangularshape, the thus formed triangular shapes being generally parallel to oneanother.

References Cited in the file 'of this patent or the original patentUNITED STATES PATENTS 590,872 Allen Sept. 28, 1897 826,805 Sche-ibnerJuly 24, 1906 921,468 Scheibner Mayll, 1909 1,232,874 Whealen July 10,1917 ,262,468 Drapalik Apr. 9, 1918 1,624,862 Elliot Apr. 12, 19271,700,545 Sanders Jan. 29, 1929 2,352,837 Hillenbrand July '4, 19442,666,679 Olofsson 12111.19, 1954 2,881,039 Guzman Apr. 7, 19 9

